Background
Events - January-May 1941
Battle of
Cape Matapan, Battles for Greece & Crete,
Capture of U.110, Enigma codes, Loss of 'Hood',
sinking of 'Bismarck'
1941
Saturday,
15 February
Submarine CACHALOT laid 50
mines off Norway in minefield FD.30 in 67-55-15N,
14-14-50E and 67-54-42N,
14-43-15E. She also made an unsuccessful torpedo attack
at Fro Havet.
_____
German heavy cruiser
ADMIRAL HIPPER arrived in Brest after sinking eight
ships of 34,042grt. Destroyers
KELLY, KIPLING, KASHMIR, JACKAL had departed Plymouth to
intercept her, but no contact was made. The heavy
cruiser was sent to Germany through the Channel in March
to refit her
turbines.
_____
Destroyers INTREPID,
IMPULSIVE, ICARUS of the 20th
Destroyer Flotilla departed Scapa
Flow at 2115 for Plymouth, and arrived at 0900/18th.
_____
The 1st Minelaying
Squadron of minelayers SOUTHERN
PRINCE, PORT QUEBEC, AGAMEMNON departed Loch Alsh at
1815 to
lay minefields SN.7B and SN.68 A, escorted by light
cruiser AURORA
and destroyers BRIGHTON, LANCASTER, CHARLESTOWN,
ECHO. They
were covered by light cruisers EDINBURGH, which departed
Scapa Flow at 0429 on the 15th and NIGERIA which had
departed Reykjavik after refuelling at 0900/14th. The
minefield was laid on the 17th, and the ships returned
to harbour on the 18th; lEDINBURGH and NIGERIA at 1617
and AURORA at 1914.
_____
Convoy WS.5B with nine
troopships departed Durban escorted by Australian heavy
cruiser AUSTRALIA and light cruiser EMERALD. On the
21st, heavy cruiser HAWKINS joined the
convoy. EMERALD and four transports were detached to
Mombasa.
_____
U.123 sank steamer ALNMOOR
(6573grt),straggling behind convoy SC.21, in 55N, 13W.
_____
Steamer STOCK FORCE
(983grt) was damaged by
German bombing near Outer Dowsing Float, Humber.
_____
Convoy OG.53 departed
Liverpool escorted by
destroyer LEAMINGTON, SABRE, SCIMITAR, sloops EGRET and
FOLKESTONE, corvettes
ANEMONE, DELPHINIUM, DIANELLA, GLADIOLUS, VERBENA, and
anti-submarine trawlers
NORTHERN GEM, NORTHERN WAVE, ST KENAN, WELLARD. Light
cruiser ARETHUSA departed Scapa Flow at 2200/18th,
joined the convoy on the 21st and accompanied it to
Gibraltar.
SCIMITAR was detached on
the 19th,
SABRE on the 20th, LEAMINGTON, EGRET, NEMONE, DIANELLA,
GLADIOLUS, NORTHERN GEM and
NORTHERN WAVE on the 22nd, and VERBENA on the 24th.
VERBENA arrived at Gibraltar on the 28th after losing
touch with the convoy and
temporarily joined the 13th Destroyer Flotilla, She
arrived at Gibraltar on 1 March, escorted by ARETHUSA,
FOLKESTONE, and DELPHINIUM.
_____
German tanker NORDMARK
replenished German armed
merchant cruiser PINGUIN at sea.
_____
Destroyers HEREWARD and
DECOY arrived at Alexandria from Operation SHELFORD.
_____
Destroyer JERVIS, JAGUAR,
JANUS, MOHAWK patrolled
in the Kithera Straits during the night of 15/16
February.
_____
Monitor TERROR departed
Derna for Benghazi, escorted by destroyers STUART,
VOYAGER, VAMPIRE.
Sunday,
16 February
Battlecruiser REPULSE,
escorted by destroyers
INGLEFIELD, MAORI, ZULU, departed Scapa Flow at 2145
for Rosyth for her first refit in twenty three months.
The destroyers arrived
back at Scapa Flow at 2315/17th.
_____
Destroyers NAPIER and
NIZAM arrived at Scapa Flow at 0800 from Londonderry on
completion of escort duties in the Western
Approaches.
_____
Destroyer ESCAPADE
departed Scapa Flow at 2000 for Rosyth to clean boilers
and repair a
damaged propeller shaft.
The destroyer arrived at
1000/17th.
_____
Convoy OB.287 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers VANOC, RAMSEY,
WANDERER,
corvettes NASTURTIUM and PERIWINKLE. Destroyers VANOC
and WANDERER and
corvette NASTURTIUM was detached later that day.
Destroyer WITCH joined the
convoy on the 17th and was detached later that day.
Destroyer RAMSEY and
corvette PERIWINKLE were detached on the 19th. Destroyer
MONTGOMERY joined on
the 20th and was detached on the 21st when the convoy
dispersed.
_____
Auxiliary minesweeper
SOUTHSEA (825grt, T/A/Lt Cdr
C C M. Pawley RNR) was badly damaged on a mine 5.9
cables 240°
from North Tyne Pier Light. She was run
aground and declared a total loss. T/Lt (E) G M Barnes
RNR, P/T/Sub Lt P Pawsey RNVR and five ratings were
lost.
_____
Minesweeping trawler
ORMONDE (250grt, Skipper W T
Coull RNR) was sunk by German bombing off Peterhead,
seven
miles 90° from
Crudsen Scauer.
Coull, T/Lt P F G Hamilton RNVR and seventeen ratings
were lost.
_____
British tanker EMPIRE
OTTER (4670grt) was sunk on a
British mine 25 miles SW of Hartland Point. The crew
were all rescued.
_____
British trawler THOMAS
DEAS (276grt) was sunk on a
mine four miles 273°
from Spurn
Point. All crew were lost.
_____
British trawler NANIWA
(340grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 52-15N, 12-30W. Five crew were lost.
_____
Italian steamer JUVENTUS
(4957grt) was sunk by a
Swordfish of 830 Squadron from Malta, three miles NE of
Kuriat Island in 35-36N,
11-18E.
_____
British troopship ULSTER
PRINCE (3791grt) departed Alexandria, escorted by
destroyers ILEX and HASTY, for Suda Bay
and Piraeus.
_____
Armed boarding vessel
FIONA departed Tobruk with
417 prisoners for Alexandria.
Monday,
17 February
Destroyer ATHERSTONE
departed Londonderry at 0500 for Scapa Flow, arriving at
1810.
_____
Force H relieved the
escorts of convoy WS.6 A.
Battleship RODNEY
proceeded to escort arriving
convoy HX.108. The convoy was met on the 18th.
Destroyers ELECTRA,
ECLIPSE, BRILLIANT, formerly
with the battleship, arrived at the Faroes on the 17th
and then on to Scapa Flow arriving on the 18th at 0730.
All three destroyers
had minor weather damage.
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
departed Scapa Flow on the 20th and at noon on the 23rd
relieved battleship ROYAL SOVEREIGN of
the TC.9 escort.
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
escorted two North Atlantic convoys.
Light cruiser PHOEBE
remained with convoy WS.6 A as
through escort.
_____
Convoy WS.6B departed with
steamers YOMA (8139grt)
and ADDA (7816grt) from Liverpool and NORTHUMBERLAND
(11,558grt), BURMA (7821grt), LLANSTEPHAN CASTLE (11,299grt), armed merchant cruiser
CILICIA from the Clyde escorted by
light cruiser MAURITIUS, which had departed Scapa Flow
on the 15th.
Destroyers HESPERUS and
HURRICANE escorted the
convoy from the 17th to 20th.
Destroyers PIORUN,
GARLAND, LEGION escorted the convoy from the 18th to
20th.
Steamer BURMA returned to
the Clyde on the 18th.
Armed merchant cruiser
CILICIA was detached on the 20th.
Corvettes CLEMATIS and
CALENDULA joined the convoy
on 3 March and escorted it to Freetown, and arrived at
Freetown on 5 March with light cruiser MAURITIUS and
joined convoy WS.6 A.
_____
Canadian troop convoy TC.9
of WARWICK
CASTLE (20,107grt), DUCHESS OF YORK
(20,021grt), ORONTES (20,097grt), DEMPO (17,024grt), JOHANN VAN OLDENBARNEVELDT
(19,429grt), WOLFE (16,418grt) departed
Halifax with battleship
ROYAL SOVEREIGN and armed merchant
cruiser WOLFE.
The armed merchant cruiser
was detached on the
18th.
Light cruiser EDINBURGH,
which departed Scapa Flow on the 20th, relieved
battleship ROYAL SOVEREIGN
on the 23rd. On the 24th, destroyers ASSINIBOINE,
HAVELOCK, RESTIGOUCHE, OTTAWA joined the convoy.
Destroyer HAVELOCK was detached the next day. The three
Canadian
destroyers remained with the convoy until 26 February.
On the 25th, light cruiser
AURORA and destroyers ECHO, ECLIPSE, INGLEFIELD, LEOPARD
joined the convoy;
destroyer LEOPARD was with the convoy only on the 25th.
Destroyer MISTRAL
joined the convoy on the 26th. Destroyer CHURCHILL
escorted the convoy in the
Western Approaches.
Light cruiser AURORA
departed the Faroes and
destroyers INGLEFIELD, ECHO, ECLIPSE departed Scapa Flow
at 0445/24th at to give additional escort to
convoy TC.9. The convoy reached the Minches in the
evening of 24 February.
Light cruiser EDINBURGH and the destroyers proceeded to
Scapa Flow arriving at 0100/27th.
Light cruiser AURORA took
the convoy into the Clyde and arrived at Greenock on the
27th.
_____
Light cruiser ARETHUSA
arrived at Scapa Flow from patrol.
_____
German tanker NORDMARK
replenished German supply
ship ALSTERTOR (3063grt) at sea.
Tanker NORDMARK slipped
the tow of captured British
refrigerator ship DUQUESNA.
_____
U.101 sank British steamer
GAIRSOPPA (5237grt),
which was straggling behind convoy SL.64, three hundred
miles southwest of Galway.
There was only survivor
from a crew of 83 crew and
two gunners.
_____
U.103 sank Motor tanker
EDWY R. BROWN (10,455grt),
which was straggling behind convoy HX.107, in 61N, 18W.
_____
U.69 sank British steamer
SIAMESE PRINCE (8456grt)
in 59-53N, 12-12W.
All crew were lost.
French destroyer MISTRAL
was sent to search for
this steamer.
Destroyers MAORI and ZULU
departed Scapa Flow at 0545/17th to search for this
steamer.
Nothing was found of the
steamer.
_____
British steamer KYLE RONA
(307grt) was lost to
unknown cause n the Irish
Sea.
_____
British steamer REN REIN
(156grt) was lost on a
mine three and a half miles east of Manacles off
Falmouth.
Two crew were lost.
_____
Light cruisers ORION and
AJAX departed Piraeus to cover the movement of convoys
AN.15 and AC.1
during the night of 17/18 February. The cruisers then
proceeded to Alexandria.
Destroyers JERVIS, MOHAWK,
JAGUAR proceeded to Alexandria.
Heavy cruiser YORK,
anti-aircraft cruiser BONAVENTURE, destroyer
JANUS returned to Suda Bay. Destroyer JANUS was
later recalled to Alexandria to participate in Operate
MC.8.
_____
Monitor TERROR arrived at
Benghazi.
_____
Submarine PARTHIAN
departed Alexandria on a reconnaissance mission for
Operation
ABSTENTION under the orders of the Rear Admiral, 3rd
Cruiser Squadron.
_____
Convoy BN.16 departed
Aden, escorted by destroyer KINGSTON and sloops GRIMSBY
and PARRAMATTA. The convoy was dispersed on the 20th.
Tuesday,
18 February
Destroyers MATABELE,
ESKIMO, TARTAR departed Scapa Flow at 0530 to meet
battleship RODNEY in 61-40N,
25-00W, arriving from HX.108 convoy duty.
All four ships arrived
back at Scapa Flow at 0300/23rd.
_____
Light cruiser ARETHUSA
departed Scapa Flow at 2200 to join convoy OG.53, which
had departed
on the 15th, and arrived at Gibraltar on 1 March.
_____
Convoy OB.288 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyer GEORGETOWN. Destroyers
ACHATES and ANTELOPE, corvettes
HEATHER and PICOTEE, anti-submarine trawler AYSHIRE
joined on the 19th. The
convoy was dispersed on the 22nd.
_____
U.96 sank British steamer
BLACK OSPREY (5589grt),
which was straggling behind convoy HX.107, in 61-30N,
18-10W.
Twenty five crew were
lost.
French destroyer MISTRAL
was sent to search for
this steamer. The search was unsuccessful and the
destroyer refuelled at Reykjavik.
_____
U.103 sank British steamer
SEAFORTH (5459grt) in
58-48N, 18-17W.
All crew were lost on the
steamer.
Destroyers MAORI and ZULU
at 2300/18th, the
destroyers were ordered to abandon the steamer SIAMESE
PRINCE search and
search for this steamer.
At 1040/20th, the
destroyers were ordered to return
to Scapa Flow, carryout an anti-submarine search en
route. The
destroyers arrived at Scapa
Flow at 1000/21st.
_____
Dutch tanker TARIA
(10,354grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 55-20N, 15-50W.
The tanker arrived at
Rothesay Bay 20 February
where the oil was transferred to another vessel.
_____
Light cruiser GLASGOW
departed Aden to collect Force Z (British troopships
GLENGYLE,
GLENEARN, GLENROY) at Durban.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES departed Sydney escorting a liner. Off Cape Van
Dieman, the
cruiser was detached and proceed to Auckland arriving on
the 23rd.
_____
Convoy SC.23 departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser ASCANIA. On
6
March, destroyer AMBUSCADE, sloop ABERDEEN, corvettes
AUBRETIA and HOLLYHOCK, anti-submarine
trawlers DANEMAN, KING SOL, LADY LILLIAN, ST APOLLO,
VISENDA joined the
convoy. The armed merchant cruiser was detached on 8
March. On 8 March,
destroyers BEVERLEY and HARVESTER joined the escort, and
arrived at Loch Ewe
on 9 March. Destroyers AMBUSCADE, BEVERLEY, HARVESTER,
sloop ABERDEEN, corvette AUBRETIA, trawler ST APOLLO
were
detached on 9 March. Corvette HOLLYHOCK and the rest of
the trawlers were not
detached until 10 March, and arrived at Loch Ewe on 9
March.
_____
Convoy SL.66 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser CORMORIN to
10
March.
Light cruiser KENYA
departed
Gibraltar on the
28th to join the convoy.
On 10 March, destroyers
MONTGOMERY, VIVIEN, WANDERER, WITCH and corvettes
NASTURTIUM,
PERWINKLE, PRIMROSE joined the convoy and escorted it to
arrival on 14 March.
Wednesday,
19 February
Light cruiser DIDO and
destroyers NAPIER and
BEDOUIN departed Scapa Flow at 2100 to escort the
battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH
from Rosyth to Scapa Flow.
Destroyer SOMALI,
completing boiler cleaning at Rosyth,
joined the escort to Scapa
Flow.
_____
Destroyer ECHO arrived at
Scapa Flow at 0800 from Loch Alsh after duty escorting
the
minelayers in operation SN.68.
_____
Destroyer ELECTRA departed
Scapa Flow for Aberdeen to escort troopship AMSTERDAM.
However, due to mining in the approaches to Aberdeen,
destroyer ELECTRA was diverted to the Humber for docking and repairs.
_____
Destroyer BOADICEA arrived
at Scapa Flow at 1800 from Plymouth to carry out working
up exercises.
_____
Destroyer QUANTOCK arrived
at Scapa Flow from
Greenock at 1500
to carry out working up exercises.
_____
Sloop PELICAN was damaged
by mining twelve miles
off Harwich.
The sloop was towed to
Sheerness and was under
repair until 1 December 1941.
_____
Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE
began refitting at Liverpool which was completed on 22
May.
_____
Submarine TIGRIS sank
French steamer JACOBSEN
(523grt) off Bayonne and French steamer GUILVINEC
(3181grt) sixty miles west
of St Nazaire in 44-48N, 3-01W.
_____
In late February to the
first week of March,
Submarine depot ship FORTH and submarines were sent to
Halifax. The submarines were to revive the early war
practice of assigning a submarine to cover HX.convoys.
Submarine
SEVERN arrived at Halifax on
the 27th.
French submarine SURCOUF
arrived at Halifax on 3 March.
Submarine THUNDERBO Lt
departed Holy Loch on the
19th and arrived at Halifax
on 5 March.
Submarines PORPOISE, TAKU,
TRIBUNE departed the Clyde on 24/25 February. Submarine TAKU broke down en route and returned.
Submarines PORPOISE and TRIBUNE arrived on 11 March.
Submarine TALISMAN
departed Holy Loch on 6 March
and arrived at Halifax on 26 March.
Depot ship FORTH departed
Aultbrea on 2 March.
Dutch submarine O.15,
already at Halifax, was also assigned to this Flotilla.
_____
Sub Lt N. D. M. Parsons
and Petty Officer A. Ashby
were killed when their Skua of 801 Squadron, en rute
from Donibristle to St
Merryn, crashed in fog at Elidir Fach, near Llanberis.
_____
U.69 sank British steamer
EMPIRE BLANDA (5693grt),
which was straggling behind convoy HX.107, in the North
Atlantic.
_____
U.103 sank Norwegian
steamer BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
(7034grt), which was straggling behind convoy HX.107, in
58-50N, 16-30W.
The crew was rescued by
Egyptian steamer MEMPHIS (2085grt). However, twenty nine
crew were lost
when MEMPHIS foundered.
_____
The German 1st MTB
Flotilla with S.28, S.101, S.102 made a sortie
against the British east coast. British steamer ALGARVE
(1355grt) was sunk by S.102 near Sheringham Light
Float, and the entire crew lost.
_____
British steamer GRACIA
(5642grt) and British tanker
HOUSANTONIC (5559grt) were sunk by German bombers in
59-39N, 7-24W from
convoy OB.287.
The entire crew was
rescued from GRACIA. Three crew
from tanker HOUSANTONIC were lost.
_____
Dutch steamer KARANAN
(395grt) was damaged by
German bombing six miles southwest of Lizard.
One crewman and two
gunners were lost.
The steamer was towed to
Falmouth.
_____
British steamer FULHAM II
(1596grt) was damaged by
a mine off Tyne Piers.
One crewman was lost.
The steamer went ashore at
Frenchman's Point. The
steamer was later refloated and proceeded to Jarrow in
tow.
_____
British tanker ATHELSULTAN
(8882grt) was damaged by
German bombing 2¼ miles 120° from May Island.
The steamer anchored in
Methil Roads later that
day.
_____
During the night of 19/20
February, British tug
QUEENFORTH (204grt) was damaged by German bombing in
King's Dock at Swansea.
The tug was raised in
1942.
_____
For Operation MC.8 the
following British forces
were deployed.
Aircraft carrier EAGLE
with a destroyer screen
departed Alexandria to exercise flying prior to the Main
Fleet's
departure.
Force A was composed of
battleships BARHAM and
VALIANT and destroyers JERVIS, JANUS, JAGUAR, ILEX,
HEREWARD, HERO, HASTY,
DAINTY, DECOY, departing Alexandria at 1630. Aircraft carrier EAGLE joined the force at sea. Force A was
to cover the operation.
Force B was light cruisers
ORION, GLOUCESTER, AJAX and destroyers NUBIAN, MOHAWK,
DIAMOND. Four
hundred and ten Army personnel were embarked on ORION,
three hundred and
seventy four on AJAX and six hundred and fifty seven on
GLOUCESTER. Also, carried by this force were 130grt of
equipment, seventeen Bren carriers and other vehicles,
sixty motor cycles, a
large quantity of Italian and other guns and ammunition.
A crew for destroyer
IMPERIAL, twenty submarine torpedoes, a number of
Maltese ratings, one LL
minesweeping gear was carried aboard the ships. ForceB
departed Alexandria at 1730.
At Malta, supply ship
BRECONSHIRE, steamer CLAN MACAULEY,
destroyers HOTSPUR and HAVOCK were brought away. These
ships departed Malta at dusk on the 20th. Anti-aircraft
cruiser COVENTRY joined this force. Despite air attacks
on this
group, they safely arrived.
Cruiser COVENTRY,
destroyer HAVOCK, storeship
BRECONSHIRE arrived at Alexandria at 0745/23rd. Steamer
CLAN MACAULEY and
destroyer HOTSPUR arrived at Port Said at 1630;
destroyer HOTSPUR then
proceeding to Alexandria.
Force B arrived at Malta
at 0630/21st. After unloading the force departed
at 1900. Destroyer DIAMOND remained at Malta for
refitting.
Destroyers MOHAWK and
NUBIAN were detached from
ForceB during the night of 21/22 February and joined
Force A at daylight on
the 22nd. On their arrival, destroyers DECOY and
HEREWARD were detached to Suda Bay.
Light cruiser GLOUCESTER
was detached for Suda Bay
on the 22nd.
On the 22nd, destroyers
DAINTY and HASTY were
relieved by destroyers STUART and VAMPIRE. The earlier
destroyers proceeded to
duties off Tobruk.
An air strike by aircraft
carrier EAGLE during the
night of 22/23 February on Rhodes was cancelled due to
bad weather.
ForceB arrived at
Alexandria at 1000/23rd and Force A at 1830.
_____
Australian destroyer
STUART was damaged by the near
miss of a German bomb off Benghazi.
The destroyer spent no
time out of service.
_____
Convoy AC.1 left Benghazi
due to air attacks and poor facilities escorted by
anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY,
corvettes GLOXINIA and HYACINTH, two trawlers.
Both corvettes had been
damaged by the explosion of
mines in their sweeps. The convoy would be met later in
the day by destroyers
STUART and VOYAGER, and arrived at Tobruk on the 20th.
Monitor TERROR remained at
Benghazi as an anti-aircraft guard ship.
_____
Submarine UPHOLDER made an
unsuccessful attack on
an Italian steamer south east of Gulf of
Gabes.
_____
Light cruiser PHOEBE was
detached from convoy WS.6A
to refuel at Gibraltar.
The light cruiser departed
that same day and
rejoined the convoy.
_____
Convoy HX.110 departed
Halifax. Battleship RAMILLIES joined the convoy on the
21st. The battleship was detached on 3 March. Destroyers
HARVESTER, HAVELOCK, HESPERUS joined the convoy on 6
March and
destroyer HURRICANE joined on 8 March. Destroyer
HARVESTER was detached on 8
March and destroyers HESPERUS and HURRICANE on 10 March.
Anti-submarine
trawler HUDDERSFIELD TOWN joined on 8 March and destroyer
HAVELOCK and the trawler
were detached when the convoy
arrived at Liverpool on 11 March.
Thursday,
20 February
Battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH
departed Rosyth at 1500,
escorted by light cruiser DIDO and destroyers SOMALI,
BEDOUIN, NAPIER. The
battleship arrived at Scapa
Flow at 0828 on the 21st
to work up.
_____
Convoy OB.289 departed
Liverpool. Escorted by destroyers BURNHAM, DOUGLAS,
MALCOLM,
corvettes MALLOW and PETUNIA, anti-submarine trawler
NORTHERN SPRAY. The
trawler was detached the next day. The remainder of the
convoy escort, less
corvette MALLOW, was detached on the 24th. Corvette
MALLOW was detached on
the 25th when the convoy dispersed.
_____
Destroyer ECHO departed
Scapa Flow at 1600
to meet troopship AMSTERDAM (4220grt) off Aberdeen and
escort her to Lerwick.
Both ships arrived at
Lerwick on the 21st. At 2145,
both ships departed Lerwick for Aberdeen.
Following this duty,
destroyer ECHO arrived back at Scapa Flow at 1545/22nd.
_____
Destroyers INTREPID,
IMPULSIVE, ICARUS, escorted by
destroyers KELLY, KASHMIR, KIPLING, JACKAL, laid
minefield GS in the English Channel.
_____
P/T/A/Sub Lt (A) J W
Ridler RNVR and Naval Airman E
W E Burton were killed when their Shark aircraft of 755
Squadron crashed near
Bristol.
_____
A/Sub Lt (A) T.V. Worrall
of 809 Squadron was
killed when his Fulmar crashed on a practice flight
northeast of Lee.
_____
British steamer FORT
MEDINE (5261grt) was sunk on a mine in 51-35N, 3-56W. One crewman was lost.
_____
British steamer RIGMOR
(1278grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 49-54N, 4-51W. The entire crew was rescued.
_____
Minesweeper BRAMBLE was
bombed off Harwich. She was
repaired in the Thames in four days in February.
_____
Minesweeping trawler
MARJORY M HASTIE (244grt, T/Lt
R T. Gilling RNR) was mined off the Tyne and went ashore at Whitburn.
The trawler was refloated
on 14 March and was
brought into the Tyne.
_____
British tanker D. L.
HARPER (12,223grt) was damaged
by German bombing in 58-50N, 12-12W.
The tanker was able to
continue her voyage and
arrived at Halifax on 3 March.
_____
British trawler
SCARBOROUGH (162grt) was damaged by German bombing in
52-15N,
11-45W.
The trawler was towed back
to port with engines
disabled.
_____
British tanker BRITISH
SPLENDOR (7138grt) was
damaged by German bombing one and a quarter miles south
of Black Head, near
Lizard.
_____
British steamer ST ROSARIO
(4312grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 58-50N, 11-40W.
The steamer was bombed
again on the 22nd in 59-40N,
12-40W.
The steamer returned to
Rothesay
Bay.
_____
British steamer ROSENBORG
(1997grt) was damaged by German
bombing in 58-49N, 11-40W.
The steamer returned to
the Clyde making water.
_____
Convoy HG.54 departed
Gibraltar escorted by destroyer FEARLESS, sloop LEITH,and corvettes GERANIUM and JONQUIL.
Submarine TUNA departed
Gibraltar escorting convoy HG.54.
Destroyer FEARLESS was
detached on the 23rd for
refuelling and rejoined on the 25th with destroyer FURY.
Both destroyers and
the corvettes were detached that night.
Six steamers from convoy
SLS.64 departed Funchal and joined the convoy.
On 6 March, destroyers
BROKE, VANITY, WOLSEY,
SALADIN and corvette ABELIA joined the convoy.
The submarine arrived at
Holy Loch on 9 March, and
arrived at Liverpool on 12 March with the four
destroyers, sloop LEITH, corvette ABELIA.
_____
Submarine REGENT attacked
a convoy composed
ofGerman transports ARTA, (2452grt) HERAKLEA (1927grt),
MENES (5609grt),
MARTIZA (2910grt), which departed Naples on the 21st for
Tripoli escorted by
Italian destroyers FRECCIA, SAETTA, TURBINE.
Submarine REGENT torpedoed
transport MENES.
Submarine REGENT was
damaged in the counterattack
by destroyer SAETTA and arrived at Malta on 1 March.
The transport was taken in
tow by destroyer SAETTA,
arriving at Tripoli with the convoy on the 20th.
_____
Naval trawler OUSE
(462grt, Sub Lt W.V. Fitzmaurice
RNR) was sunk by a mine at Tobruk.
Fitzmaurice and eight
ratings were wounded. These
nine were all that survived.
A/Sub Lt E. P. Ede RNR,
Gunner J. Edwards, ten ratings were lost.
_____
Convoy AS.15 of six
British, twelve Greek, three
other ships departed Piraeus
escorted by anti-aircraft cruiser CALCUTTA and
destroyers GREYHOUND and WATERHEN.
Cruiser CALCUTTA was
detached from the convoy and arrived at Alexandria on
the 23rd, and arrived at Alexandria with destroyer
WRYNECK and Port Said with destroyer GREYHOUND on the
24th.
Destroyer GREYHOUND
remained at Port Said for the next northbound convoy.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER took over convoy US 9 composed of steamers
AQUITANIA (44,786grt), MAURETANIA (35,739grt), NIEUW
AMSTERDAM (36,287grt) from
Australian heavy cruiser CANBERRA
150 miles west of Ceylon, and arrived at Bombay on the
22nd.
The light cruiser departed
Bombay on the 22nd to search off the Maldives for German
heavy cruiser ADMIRAL SCHEER.
_____
German heavy cruiser
ADMIRAL SCHEER captured
British tanker BRITISH ADVOCATE (6994grt) and Greek
steamer GRIGORIOS C II
(2546grt) west of Seychilles.
The Greek steamer was sunk
and her twenty seven man
crew was taken prisoner.
_____
Italian armed merchant
cruiser RAMB I departed
Massawa for Japan.
_____
British steamer DUQUESA,
captured by German heavy
cruiser SCHEER on 18 December 1940, was scuttled on the
20th at Mogadishu.
_____
Convoy BS.16 departed
Suez. The convoy was joined on the 21st by destroyer
KINGSTON and sloops FLAMINGO and HINDUSTAN. Sloop
FLAMINGO was detached on the 23rd. The
convoy was dispersed on the 25th.
_____
Convoy BA.1 departed
Bombay, escorted by armed merchant cruiser ANTENOR, and
arrived
at Aden. The ships of the convoy joined convoy WS.5B and
proceeded to Suez.
Friday,
21 February
Destroyer BOADICEA
departed Scapa Flow at 2100 for Rosyth to carry out
repairs to her
boilers.
The destroyer arrived at
Rosyth on the 22nd and was
under repair until 3 March.
_____
Destroyer CLARE, which
departed Plymouth on the 20th, was damaged in a
collision with
British steamer PETERTOWN (5221grt) in 50-47N, 4-50W.
Destroyer CLARE arrived at
Plymouth on the 22nd. The destroyer was repairing and
converting
to a long range escort until 14 October 1941 at
Portsmouth.
_____
German aircraft attacked
the British facilities at
Skaalefjord. These facilities included British oiler WAR
PINDARI and oil
facilities.
Anti-submarine trawler
LINCOLN CITY (398grt, P/T/Lt F. A. Seward RNR) was sunk
by German bombing at Thorshavn.
Anti-submarine trawler
LEICESTER CITY (422grt) shot down a German bomber.
_____
Submarine CACHALOT was on
patrol off Vestfjord.
_____
German heavy cruiser
ADMIRAL SCHEER sank British steamer
CANADIAN CRUISER (7148grt) in 6-36S, 47-18E.
The entire crew was taken
prisoner.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
REGISTAN arrived at Gibraltar
with French steamer FORT RICHEPANSE (3485grt), which she
had captured in
30-47N, 18-59W on the 9th.
_____
Battleship MALAYA relieved Force H escorting convoy WS.6A and remained with the convoy
until 1 March when the convoy arrived at
Freetown.
Convoy WS.6B joined at
Freetown.
On 3 March, the convoy
departed Freetown escorted by light cruisers PHOEBE and
BIRMINGHAM and armed merchant cruiser CATHAY.
Heavy cruiser CATHAY was relieved by heavy cruiser
CORNWALL on 11 March.
Sent ahead as a fast
section, steamers SCYTHIA, ALMANZORA, BERGENSFJORD, LLANGIBBY
CASTLE, RUAHINE arrived at Capetown on 21 March. They departed after
watering for Durban
on 22 March, escorted by light cruiser PHOEBE. The
section arrived at Durban on 26 March, and arrived at
Capetown on 22 March.
The Capetown convoy sailed
on 27 March escorted by
heavy cruiser DORSETSHIRE.
On 1 April, the Durban
section sailed escorted by heavy cruiser CORNWALL and
light cruiser PHOEBE. The two sections
rendezvoused on 2 April.
Heavy cruiser DORSETSHIRE
was detached on 7 April
to Durban.
Steamers
LLANDAFF
CASTLE and CITY OF ATHENS were detached to Mombasa on 8
April.
On 10 April, steamer
TALAMBA (8018grt) joined the
convoy from the Seychilles escorted by light cruiser
GLASGOW. The light
cruiser remained with the convoy until 13 April.
Light cruiser PHOEBE was
detached on 10 April.
Heavy cruiser CANBERRA was
with the convoy on 10 April only.
Heavy cruiser CORNWALL was
detached on 17 April.
At Perim, the convoy
dispersed and the ships
proceeded independently.
_____
Light cruiser EMERALD was
relieved in convoy WS.5B
by Heavy cruiser HAWKINS.
_____
Battleship WARSPITE was
docked at Alexandria for repairs.
The battleship was
undocked on the 24th.
_____
Aircraft carrier
FORMIDABLE aircraft raided
Massawa.
_____
Submarine URSULA attacked
a convoy of Italian
steamers SABBIA (5788grt) and SILVIA TRIPCOVICH
(2365grt), which departed Trapani on the 21st escorted
by torpedo boat MONTANARI.
Submarine URSULA damaged
Italian steamer SABBIA in
35-47N, 11-16E.
The submarine was damaged
in the counterattack.
Steamer SILVIA TRIPCOVICH
continued, unescorted.
Steamer SABBIA,
accompanied by torpedo boat
MONTANARI, arrived at Tripoli
on the 24th.
Saturday,
22 February
Light cruiser AURORA,
which joined off Cape Wrath, arrived at Scapa Flow at
1534 with British transports QUEEN EMMA and
PRINCESS BEATRIX from the Clyde.
At 2130, light cruiser
AURORA departed Scapa Flow carrying anti-aircraft guns
and four gun crews
from battleship NELSON to strengthen the anti-aircraft
defenses at
Skaalefjord.
_____
Destroyer AVON VALE
departed Greenock at 1645 for Scapa
Flow to carry out working
up exercises.
The destroyer arrivedat
Scapa Flow at 1430/23rd.
_____
Destroyer ICARUS, escorted
by destroyers BERKELEY,
TYNEDALE, VANSITTART, laid minefield JK in the English
Channel.
_____
U.96 sank British tanker
SCOTTISH STANDARD
(6999grt), which was straggling behind convoy OB.287
after being damaged by
German bombers in 59-09N, 16-18W on the 20th, in 59-20N,
16-12W.
Five crew were lost on the
tanker. The survivors
were rescued by destroyer MONTGOMERY.
_____
Italian submarine MARCELLO
was sunk west of the Hebrides by destroyer MONTGOMERY.
Also in the escort group
with MONTGOMERY were destroyer HURRICANE and corvette
PERIWINKLE.
_____
U.108 sank Dutch steamer
TEXELSTROOM (1617grt) in
63-15N, 20-30W.
_____
British tanker LUXOR
(6554grt) was damaged by German bombing at Swansea.
_____
British steamer KINGSTON
HILL (7628grt) was damaged
by German bombing in 59-44N, 12-33W.
The steamer arrived at
Loch Ewe under tow on the
25th.
_____
British steamer KEILA
(3621grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 59-44N, 12-33W.
The steamer reached the
Clyde under her own power.
_____
German heavy cruiser
ADMIRAL SCHEER sank Dutch
steamer RANTAU PANDJANG (2542grt) at 8-24S, 51-35E.
Two crew were lost and the
rest were taken
prisoner.
A Walrus from Light
cruiser GLASGOW sighted SCHEER
and the Admiralty ordered all British units to converge
on that location in
an attempt to sink SCHEER.
Aircraft carrier HERMES
and light cruiser CAPETOWN
came out from Mombasa. Heavy cruisers AUSTRALIA and
HAWKINS were detached from convoy WS.5 B.
Light cruiser EMERALD recently detached from convoy WS.5
B. Australian heavy
cruiser CANBERRA was released from convoy US 9 after
being relieved by light cruiser LEANDER.
Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE was called from patrol to the
south of SCHEER.
Light cruiser ENTERPRISE was called from patrol to the
north of SCHEER.
However, SCHEER was able
to lose the seaplane and
escaped back into the South
Atlantic.
The search was called off
on the 24th.
_____
Off Newfoundland, German
battleship GNEISENAU sank British steamer
TRELAWNEY (4689grt) in 47-12N, 40-13W, British tanker
HARLESDEN (5483grt) in
47-12N, 40-18W, British steamer KANTARA (3237grt) in
47-12N, 40-13W from
dispersed convoy OB.285, British steamer A. D. HUFF
(6219grt) in 47-12N,
40-13W from dispersed convoy OB.286.
One crewman was killed
TRELAWNEY and the rest were
taken prisoner.
Seven crew were lost on
HARLESDEN and the rest were
taken prisoner.
The entire crew of the
KANTARA were made prisoners.
Two crew were killed and
the rest taken prisoner
from A. D. HUFF.
German battleship
SCHARNHORST sank British tanker
LUSTROUS (6156grt) in 47-12N, 40-13W.
All crew from LUSTROUS
were taken prisoner.
_____
German minelayers BRUMMER,
COBRA, KONIGIN LUISE and
escorted by the 5th Minesweeping Flotilla from Bergen
laid minefield SWINE between the Shetlands and
Korsfjord.
_____
Monitor TERROR was damaged
by the near miss of an
air bomb off Benghazi at dawn.
As the monitor was leaving
Benghazi for Tobruk, she was damaged by striking two
mines.
The monitor was further
damaged at 1825/23rd in an
Italian air attack. Minesweeper FAREHAM and
corvette SALVIA attempted to tow the monitor.
Destroyers DAINTY and
HASTY were sent to her assistance,
but destroyer HASTY never made contact. Destroyer
DAINTY, delayed by defects,
was unable to leave Tobruk until 0530.
The monitor sank at
0415/24th off Derna in 32-59N,
22-32E. There were no casualties. The crew were taken on
corvette SALVIA and
minesweeper FAREHAM.
Australian light cruiser
PERTH was sailed at 0330 from Alexandria to assist.
Light cruiser AJAX and destroyers MOHAWK and NUBIAN were
also to
depart Alexandria on the 24th to support monitor TERROR.
However,
when word of the monitor's loss, the sailing was
cancelled.
There were no casualties
in the loss of the
monitor.
_____
Polish ship WARSAWA
(2487grt), British steamer
KNIGHT OF MALTA (1553grt), armed boarding vessel CHAKLA
arrived at Tobruk
with stores and personnel.
At Tobruk, anti-submarine
whaler SOUTHERN SEA was damaged in a collision with a
lighter.
_____
Submarine REGENT
unsuccessfully attacked Italian
shipping off Tripoli.
Sunday,
23 February
Destroyer BRILLIANT
departed Scapa Flow at 1530 to meet submarine SUNFISH
off Bell Rock
and escort her to Scapa
Flow.
Destroyer BEDOUIN departed
Scapa Flow at 0800/24th to reinforce the submarine
escort.
The ships arrived at Scapa
Flow at 2100/24th.
_____
Convoy OB.290 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers VANQUISHER, WHITEHALL,
WINCHELSEA, sloops ENCHANTRESS and WESTON,
corvettes CAMPANULA and PIMPERNEL. The escort, less
sloop WESTON, was
detached on the 26th. On the 27th, sloop WESTON was
detached when the convoy
was dispersed.
_____
U.107 and Italian
submarine BIANCHI sank ocean
boarding vessel MANISTEE (5360grt, Lt Cdr E. H. Smith
RNR) in 59-30N, 21W.
Smith, T/Sub Lt (E) J.
Allison RNR, T/Paymaster Sub Lt J. Berkeley RNR,
T/Surgeon Lt L. R. Blair RNVR, P/T/Sub Lt T. B.
Bryson RNR, T/Sub Lt (E) O. A. Cochrane RNR, T/Lt F.
Davies RNVR, T/Lt (E) R. E. Duff RNR, T/Lt Cdr (E) J. G.
Duncan RNR, T/Lt A. C. Gravelle RNR, T/Sub Lt C. B.
Jackaman RNR, T/Lt N. A. H. Lawrie RNVR, Lt E. B. D.
MacFarren RNR, T/Paymaster Lt G. F. J. Nathan RNR,
Paymaster Midshipman J. J. M. Reynolds RNR, T/Lt D. W.
Seabrook RNR, Gunner S. W. Tarrant, T/Sub Lt C. R.
Webster RNR, T/Midshipman D. M. Williams RNR, one
hundred and twenty two ratings were missing
on the ship.
Destroyer CHURCHILL was
dispatched to search for
survivors, but found none.
_____
British tanker WAR PINDARI
was unsuccessfully
attacked by German bombing at Skaalefjord.
_____
A German Kondor aircraft
sighted dispersed convoy
OB.288. This sighting led U.boats to the convoy.
_____
U.96 sank British steamer
HUNTINGDON (10,946grt) from
convoy OB.288 in 58-25N, 20-23W.
The entire crew was
rescued by Greek steamer
PAPALEMOS (3478grt) of the convoy.
_____
U.69 sank British steamer
TEMPLE
MOAT (4427grt), which was straggling behind convoy OB.288, in 59-27N,
20-20W.
_____
U.95 sank British
steamers
CAPE
NELSON (3807grt) and ANGLO PERUVIAN (5457grt) from convoy OB.288 in 59-30N,
21-00W.
The submarine also claimed
damaging another ship,
but no confirmation is available.
_____
British steamer SHOAL
FISHER (698grt) was sunk on a
mine in 50-10N, 4-50W.
The entire crew was
rescued and taken to Falmouth.
_____
German merchant ships
ANKARA (4768grt), REICHENFELS (7744grt), KYBFELS
(7764grt), MARBURG (7564grt) departed Naples for Tripoli
escorted by Italian destroyers AVIERE and GENIERE
and torpedo boat CASTOR at 1900/23rd. The convoy was
covered by Italian light
cruisers BANDE NERE and DIAZ with destroyers ASCARI and
CORAZZIERE.
The light cruisers also
covered a return convoy of
steamers ARTA (2452grt), NIRVO (5164grt), GIOVINEZZA
(2362grt), which
departed Tripoli 0530/24th escorted by torpedo boat
PAPA.
_____
British steamer KNIGHT OF
MALTA (1553grt) and
Egyptian steamer STAR OF MEX (1116grt) departed Tobruk
for Alexandria with personnel.
_____
Submarine UPRIGHT sank
Italian steamer SILVIA
TRIPCOVICH (2365grt) off Kuriat Island in 34-33N, 11-45E.
_____
Greek submarine NEREUS
reported sinking an Italian
transport off Valona in 40-07N, 18-57E.
_____
Battleship RESOLUTION
departed Gibraltar, escorted by destroyers JERSEY, JUPITER, DUNCAN, VELOX, for
Portsmouth.
Destroyers DUNCAN and
VELOX returned to Gibraltar.
_____
Destroyer WRESTLER arrived
at Gibraltar after refitting in England.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
MARSDALE arrived from Western
Patrol with French steamers PLM 13 and LORIENT
whom she had captured at 28-12N, 12-23W on the 18th.
_____
Convoy HX.111 departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser AURANIA and
corvette COLLINGWOOD. The corvette was detached the next
day. The armed
merchant cruiser left the escort on 7 March. On 8 March,
destroyer BEVERLEY
and corvettes ARBUTUS and CAMELLIA joined the escort.
Destroyers CHELSEA,
VERITY, WOLVERINE joined on 10 March and corvette
CAMELLIA was detached, and
arrived at Liverpool on 12 March.
Monday,
24 February
Destroyer KELVIN arrived
at Scapa Flow from the Tyne at 1200 to
carry out degaussing range trials.
Following the trials, the
destroyer departed Scapa Flow at 1830 for Plymouth.
_____
Destroyer ATHERSTONE
departed Scapa Flow at 2000 for Rosyth following her
working up
exercises.
_____
Destroyers INTREPID and
IMPULSIVE laid minefield GT
in the English Channel.
_____
Minesweeping trawler ERIMO
(265grt, Skipper T.
Catchpole RNR) was seriously damaged in the approaches
to Swansea.
_____
Minesweeper BLACKPOOL was
machine gunned by German aircraft off the
northeast coast of Scotland.
The minesweeper had no
time out of action.
_____
U.123 sank Dutch steamer
GROOTEKERK (8685grt) in
the Atlantic.
The entire crew were lost.
_____
U.96 sank Norwegian
steamer SVEIN JARL (1908grt) in
59-30N, 21W.
_____
U.95 sank British steamer
MARSLEW (4542grt), from
dispersed convoy OB.288, in 59-18N, 21-30W.
_____
U.97 sank from convoy
OB.289 British steamer
MANSEPOOL (4894grt) in 61-01N, 12-00W and British
steamer JONATHAN HOLT (4973grt), in 61-10N, 11-55W.
Two crew were lost on the
steamer MANSEPOOL.
Thirty nine crew, two
gunners, eleven passengers
were lost on the steamer JONATHAN HOLT.
_____
U.96 sank British steamer
SIRIKISHNA (5458grt), from
dispersed convoy OB.288, in 58N, 21W.
Convoy Commodore Rear
Admiral R. A. A. Plowden Rtd
was lost in the steamer.
_____
Italian submarine BIANCHI
sank British steamer
LINARIA (3385grt), from dispersed convoy OB.288, in 61N,
25W.
_____
U.73 sank British steamer
WAYNEGATE (4260grt), from
dispersed convoy OB.288, in 58-50N, 21-47W.
The entire crew was
rescued by French destroyer
LEOPARD.
_____
U.97 sank British tanker
BRITISH GUNNER (6894grt)
from convoy OB.289 in 61-09N, 12-04W.
Three crew were lost from
the tanker.
U.97 damaged Norwegian
tanker G. C. BROVIG
(9718grt) from convoy OB.289 in 61-04N, 14-24W.
The steamer was badly
damaged. She arrived at
Stornoway on the 26th assisted by Royal Navy units.
_____
U.48 sank British steamer
NAILSEA LASS (4289grt),
which was straggling behind convoy SLS.64, sixty miles
southwest of Fastnet.
Five crew were killed and
two were taken prisoner.
Twenty nine crew were later rescued.
_____
Destroyers DAINTY (Cdr M.
S. Thomas DSO) and HASTY
were leaving Tobruk at dusk when destroyer DAINTY was
sunk in an air attack.
P/T/Surgeon Lt W. G.
Cuthbertson RNVR, T/Lt (E) E
M. McAllister and twelve ratings were killed.
One rating died of wounds.
A/Gunner (T) R. G.
Humphreys and seventeen ratings were wounded.
Destroyer HASTY and
trawler MARIA GIOVANNI rescued
DAINTY's survivors.
The destroyer arrived at
Alexandria with 140 survivors, including the Commanding
Officer and four officers on the 25th.
Destroyer HASTY was
relieved in the Inshore
Squadron by destroyer WATERHEN, which departed
Alexandria on the 26th.
_____
Italian convoy of
troopships ESPERIA (11,398grt),
CONTE ROSSO (17,879grt), MARCO POLO (12,272grt),
VICTORIA (13,098grt)
departed Naples escorted by destroyers BALENO and
CAMICIA NERA and
torpedo boat ALDEBARAN.
Light cruisers BANDE NERE
and DIAZ and destroyers
ASCARI and CORAZZIERE covered the convoy.
Italian light cruiser DIAZ
(flagship of Admiral
Moriondo) was sunk by Submarine UPRIGHT on the 25th off
Sfax in 34-33N,
11-45E.
Submarine UPRIGHT
unsuccessfully attacked a
destroyer in this force.
_____
Convoy BN.17 departed
Suez, escorted by sloops SHOREHAM and YARRA. The convoy
was dispersed on the 27th.
_____
Convoy BS.17 departed
Suez. Sloops CLIVE and HINDUSTAN joined the convoy on
the 25th. The sloops were
detached that night. Sloops FLAMINGO and YARRA joined
the convoy. The convoy
was dispersed on 3 March.
_____
Destroyers ENCOUNTER and
ISIS departed Gibraltar for a trip
around the Cape to Alexandria to join the
Mediterranean Fleet. Ocean boarding
vessel MARSDALE, en route to Western Patrol, sailed in
company.
The destroyers arrived at
Freetown on 3 March.
Destroyer ISIS departed
Freetown on 5 March for St Helena. The destroyer
departed St Helena on 9 March.
Destroyer ENCOUNTER
departed Freetown on 9 March and joined destroyer ISIS
at sea.
The destroyers arrived at
Simonstown on 13 March
and departed on 16 March. They arrived at Durban on 18
March and departed on 25 March. The two
destroyers arrived at Mombasa
on 29 March and departed on 31 March. Destroyers
ENCOUNTER and ISIS arrived at Aden on 4 April and
departed on 5 April. They departed Suez on 8 April and
arrived at Alexandria on 9 April.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER joined a convoy en route
from Colombo to Bombay.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES departed Auckland.
On the 26th, the cruiser
joined convoy AP 13 and
escorted it to 450 miles northeast of Chatham
Island.
The cruiser returned to
Wellington arriving on 2 March.
Tuesday,
25 February
Battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH
departed Scapa Flow at 0500 escorted by destroyers
NAPIER, NIZAM,
BEDOUIN, MATABELE for gun and full power trials.
The ships arrived back
later in the day.
Turbine defects developed
in the battleship on the
27th. These were repaired and trials were completed on
14 March.
_____
Destroyer BRILLIANT
departed Scapa Flow at 2100 for Portsmouth to undergo
repairs prior to transferring to the
Western Approaches.
_____
Destroyer MENDIP arrived
at Scapa Flow at 1030 from the Tyne to complete working up after repairs.
_____
Escorting convoy FN.417,
destroyer EXMOOR ( Lt Cdr R. T. Lampard) was sunk by German S.30 off the Lizard.
Lampard, Sub Lt C H M
Beckwith, T/Sub Lt A A H
Weeks RNVR, Commissioned Engineer S H Young, one hundred
and one ratings were
lost with the destroyer.
Thirty two survivors,
including Lt J. K. Hamilton,
A/T/Sub Lt D. S. Thorp RNVR, Surgeon Lt J. F. Hughes
MRCS, LRCP, Gunner E.
Whiteside, Midshipman H. D. Barr RNR, were rescued by
patrol sloop SHEARWATER and
patrol trawler COMMANDER EVANS (344grt).
_____
British sailing barge
GLOBE (54grt) was sunk on a
mine 6100 yards 79°
from Garrison Point, Sheerness.
Two crew were lost.
_____
Convoy OG.54 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyer LINCOLN.
Destroyers KEPPEL,
SHIKARI, VENOMOUS, sloop
ROCHESTER, corvettes DIANELLA, KINGCUP, LA MALOUINE,
SUNFLOWER,
anti-submarine yacht PHILANTE joined the convoy on the
26th. Corvette
COREOPSIS joined on the 27th.
Corvette KINGCUP was
detached on the 27th and
corvette COREOPSIS on the 28th. On 2 March, yacht
PHILANTE and corvettes
DIANELLA and SUNFLOWER were detached. Destroyers KEPPEL
and VENOMOUS were
detached on 3 March. On 4 March, destroyers LINCOLN and
SHIKARI were detached.
On 6 March, Dutch
submarine O.21 joined the convoy
escort, and arrived at Gibraltar on 14 March with sloop
ROCHESTER, corvette LA MALOUINE, the Dutch submarine.
_____
German torpedo boats ILTIS
and JAGUAR laid
minefield AUGSBURG A off Eastbourne.
_____
Battlecruiser RENOWN and
aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL
arrived at Gibraltar, escorted by destroyers FORESIGHT,
FOXHOUND,
FIREDRAKE, FORTUNE, after escorting convoys in the
Atlantic.
The destroyers had
departed Gibraltar on the 22nd to escort the
battlecruiser and
aircraft carrier.
_____
In Operation ABSTENTION
and Operation MAR 2, a special assault force of 500 men
were
embarked on destroyers DECOY and HEREWARD at Suda
Bay.
The main garrison for
Castelelorizo was embarked in
armed boarding vessel ROSAURA, which departed Alexandria
on the 23rd for Famagusta.
Gunboat LADYBIRD departed
Famagusta at 2230/23rd.
Submarine PARTHIAN acted
as a beacon for the
landing.
After an attack on the
island during the night of
24/25 February, destroyers DECOY and HEREWARD landed the
commandoes before
dawn on the 25th.
However, eight of the ten
boats from HEREWARD lost
their bearings and returned to destroyer DECOY. They
were later landed in
daylight.
Gunboat LADYBIRD arrived
at daylight on the 25th
and landed a party of twenty four Marines.
This operation was covered
by light cruisers
BONAVENTURE and GLOUCESTER.
Gunboat LADYBIRD was
damaged by a bomb hit during
the morning while in harbour.
The Marines from LADYBIRD
were reembarked on the gunboat.
The gunboat then proceeded to Famagusta, Cyprus.
The attempt to take the
island was unsuccessful,
due to delays of armed boarding vessel ROSAURA.
In response to the
landing, Italian destroyers
SELLA and CRISPI and torpedo boats LUPO and LINCE took
on 240 men at Rhodes and left for Castelorizzo.
During the night of 25/26
February, destroyer
HEREWARD contacted the Italian torpedo boats, but tried
to concentrate with
destroyer DECOY before attacking. Destroyer DECOY,
escorting ROSAURA, did not
make contact.
Destroyer HEREWARD lost
touch with the Italian
ships and made no attack.
Italian torpedo boat LUPO
arrived at Castelorizzo
soon after 0001/26 February and entered the harbour.
However, a storm blew up
before disembarkation had progressed very far.
At 0230/26th, the British
ships involved in
ABSTENTION were ordered to return to Alexandria. Light
cruiser GLOUCESTER, anti-aircraft cruiser BONAVENTURE,
destroyer
DECOY arrived at Alexandria at 2000/26th. Destroyer
HEREWARD and armed
boarding vessel ROSAURA arrived at 0400/27th.
The garrison on ROSAURA
was transferred to
destroyers DECOY and HEREWARD.
_____
Destroyers HOTSPUR and
VAMPIRE departed Alexandria for Port Said to escort
convoy AN.16.
British troopship ULSTER
PRINCE also departed Alexandria for Port Said to embark
military personnel for Greece and Crete.
_____
British tanker TYNEFIELD
(5856grt) was damaged by
German bombing at Tobruk.
One crewman was lost.
The forecastle was
wrecked.
Tanker TYNEFIELD, escorted
by anti-submarine
trawler WOLBOROUGH, arrived at Alexandria on 6 March.
After repairs, the tanker
sailed for Aden on 30 June.
_____
Naval whaler SARNA
(268grt, T/Skipper C. Sarel RNR) of the 142nd
Minesweeping Group was sunk on a
mine in the Suez Canal.
The Skipper of the whaler
was able to beach his
ship clear of the channel.
One rating was missing and
one crewman was injured.
Wednesday,
26 February
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
departed
Scapa Flow at 1247
to meet convoys HX.112 and SC.24 in 52W.
_____
Destroyer GEORGETOWN,
which departed Aultbrea on the 20th, was in a
collision with an unknown ship.
The destroyer arrived in
the Clyde on the 28th. She was repaired in the
Tyne completing in early June.
_____
Destroyers INTREPID,
ICARUS, IMPULSIVE, escorted by
destroyers VANSITTART and WIVERN, laid minefield JL in
the English Channel during the night of 26/27 February.
_____
In a minelaying operation
from North Coates, a
Swordfish of 812 Squadron forced landed and Sub Lt E.
David and Sub Lt K. J.
Cole were killed.
_____
P/T/Sub Lt (A) J.
Stafford-Clark RNVR, was killed
when his Miles Master of 760 Squadron crashed near
Somerton Erleigh. P/A/Sub
Lt (A) J. E. Scott RNVR, also in the aircraft, was not
hurt.
_____
British steamer MINORCA (1123grt) was sunk by German S.28 in 53-04N, 1-21E, off Cromer.
Seventeen crew and two
passengers were lost. Two
crew and one passengers were rescued.
_____
Dutch steamer AMSTELLAND
(8156grt) was badly
damaged by German bombing in 54-12N, 16W.
The steamer was taken in
tow, but was abandoned on
the 28th in a sinking condition.
_____
Dutch steamer BEURSPLEIN
(4368grt) was badly
damaged by German bombing in 54-12N, 16W.
Twenty one crew were lost.
The ship was abandoned
on fire on the 27th and later sank.
_____
German bombers sank
British steamers MAHANADA
(7181grt) in 54-07N, 17-06W, SWINBURNE (4659grt) in
54-00N, 16-58W, LLANWERN
(4966grt) in 54-07N, 17-06W from convoy OB.290.
Three crew were lost on
steamer MAHANADA.
The entire crew of steamer
SWINBURNE were rescued.
Twenty five crew and two
gunners were lost on
steamer LLANERN.
_____
In attacks on convoy
OB.290, U.47 sank Belgian
steamer KASONGO (5254grt) in 55-50N, 14-20W, damaged
British tanker DIALA
(8106grt) in 55-50N, 14W, damaged Swedish steamer
RYDBOHOLM (3197grt) in
55-32N, 14-24W, sank Norwegian steamer BORGLAND
(3636grt) in 55-50N, 14W.
Six crew were lost on
steamer KASONGO.
One crewman was lost from
steamer DIALA. The
steamer arrived in the Clyde on the 28th.
Steamer RYDBOHOLM was sunk
by bombing later on the
26th. She was abandoned and sank in 55-48N, 14-25W.
Twenty six crew and two
passengers were saved from
steamer RYDBOHOLM.
The entire crew of steamer
BORGLAND were rescued.
_____
U.70 sank Swedish steamer
GOTEBORG (820grt) southeast of Iceland.
_____
British power barge
BRACKELIER (230grt) and barge
MONARCH, under tow, were sunk on mines eighty feet off
Alexandra Jetty, at
the entrance to Alexandra Dock, Hull.
Two crew were lost from
the power barge and one
crewman were rescued from barge MONARCH.
_____
Greek steamer KYRIAKOULA
(4340grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 55-02N, 16-25W.
The vessel was not hit,
but the bombs fell
alongside the steamer which had already been abandoned.
The entire crew was
rescued.
_____
Norwegian steamer
SOLFERINO (2580grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 55-02N, 16-25W.
Three crew were lost.
_____
Norwegian steamer
TENERIFFA (5655grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 51-30N, 4-55W.
The entire crew was
rescued.
_____
British steamer EMPIRE
STEELHEAD (7744grt) was
damaged by German bombing at ten miles 80° from
Cromarty. The steamer was set
on fire. She was towed to an anchorage of Invergordon.
_____
British steamer MELMORE
HEAD (5273grt) was damaged
by German bombing in 55-07N, 16-00W from convoy OB.290.
The steamer was abandoned.
She was towed into Kames Bay
on 5 March and then to Rothesay Bay
where she was beached pending repair.
_____
British steamer LEEDS CITY
(4758grt) was damaged by German bombing in 54-00N,
17-45W from convoy OB.290.
On 6 March, the steamer
was towed into the Clyde.
_____
Dutch steamer SURINAME
(7915grt) was damaged by German bombing in 54-12N,
16-40W.
The steamer arrived at St
Michaels on 5 March.
_____
British trawler HOPTON
(202grt) was damaged by
German bombing six miles east, southeast of Girdleness.
_____
German lugger
SCHAUMBURG-LIPPE (200grt) was sunk on
a mine in the Elbe.
_____
Convoy AN.16 of British
steamer ALAVI (3566grt) and
four Greek ships departed Port Said for Piraeus and Port Said
escorted by destroyer GREYHOUND. Destroyer HAVOCK
joined the convoy.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY joined on the 28th.
On the 28th at 1925,
cruiser COVENTRY's temporary bow was badly shaken and
the cruiser
was forced to hove to. At 2306, the cruiser was ordered
to return to Alexandria. The cruiser arrived at
Alexandria at 1500 on 1 March.
Destroyer GREYHOUND
continued with the convoy.
The convoy arrived at
Piraeus on 3 March.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
CORINTHIAN arrived at Gibraltar from Western Patrol.
Thursday,
27 February
Light cruiser DIDO
departed Scapa Flow to escort convoy SL.65.
_____
Destroyer LEGION arrived
at Scapa Flow at 1600 from Greenock to take part in Operation CLAYMORE.
_____
Destroyer ARROW was
transferred to the Home Fleet
at Scapa Flow from the Western Approaches.
_____
Convoy OB.291 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyer CALDWELL. On the 27th
destroyers VOLUNTEER and WALKER, sloop FLEETWOOD,
corvette TULIP, seaplane
carrier PEGASUS joined the escort. The escorted was
detached when the convoy
dispersed on 3 March.
_____
French destroyer MISTRAL
was damaged in a collision
with British oiler BLACK RANGER.
There was slight damage to
the destroyer.
_____
German battlecruisers
SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU
refuelled at sea from tankers ERMLAND (6528grt) and
FRIEDRICH BREME
(10,396grt).
One hundred and eighty
prisoners from the sunken
British ships were transferred to the tankers.
_____
Submarine TAKU, which had
departed the Clyde on the 24th, broke down in the
Atlantic when the after hydroplane was carried away in heavy weather.
Sloop ENCHANTRESS,
corvette GLADIOLUS, tug SALVONIA
were sent to assist the submarine.
Submarine TAKU arrived at
Londonderry on 10 March. She was under repair from 16 to
21
March.
_____
Destroyer CHESTERFIELD,
which departed Londonderry on the 27th, collided with
submarine H 32 off Londonderry.
The destroyer was able to
continue on her duties.
The damage was later repaired and required one week to
complete.
_____
Minesweeping trawler
REMILLO (266grt, Skipper H. H.
Jarvis RNR) was sunk on a mine off the Humber. 1.76 miles 274° from Spurn
Point Light House.
Jarvis and sixteen ratings
were lost on the trawler.
_____
Convoy OB.292 departed
Liverpool escorted by French destroyer OURAGAN,
destroyer
AMBUSCADE, sloop ABERDEEN, corvette HOLLYHOCK,
anti-submarine trawlers KING SOL, DANEMAN, ST APOLLO.
When the convoy was
dispersed on 6 March, the
escorts proceeded to escort convoy SC.23.
_____
British steamer STANWOLD
(1020grt) was lost to
unknown cause ten miles west, southwest of Selsey.
_____
German bombers sank
British steamer OLD CHARLTON
(1562grt) in 51-57N, 1-40W.
One crewman was lost.
Steamer CATHERINE HAWKSFIELD
rescued the survivors.
_____
British steamer BLACKTOFT
(1109grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 51-57N, 1-40E.
The steamer was taken in
tow and arrived at Harwich
on the 28th.
_____
British steamer NEWLANDS
(1556grt) was damaged by
German bombing in Barrow Deep.
The steamer was
considerably damaged by a bomb
which failed to explode.
_____
German bombers attacked
British steamer ANCHISES
(10,000grt) in 55-30N, 13-17W.
The steamer was attacked
again the next day 140
miles west of Bloody Foreland and sunk.
Thirteen crew and three
passengers were lost. The
most of crew were picked up by Canadian destroyer
ASSINIBOINE. Later the Captain and a skeleton crew were
taken
off by corvette KINGCUP.
_____
British steamer NOSS HEAD
(438grt) was lost to
unknown cause in the vicinity of Gardenstown, E.
Scotland.
_____
Italian submarine BIANCHI
attacked British steamer
EMPIRE ABILITY (7603grt) in convoy OB.290 in 54N, 14W
without success.
_____
British trawler
CHRISTABELLE (203grt) was sunk on a
British mine in 61-27N, 6-05W.
Ten crew were lost.
_____
British steamer CAPE
CLEAR (5085grt) was damaged on a mine in 53-27N, 4-01W.
The steamer anchored off
Bar Light Vessel with
engine room problems. She was docked at Liverpool on 1
March.
_____
German steamer ADELE
OHLROGGE (1371grt) was sunk on
a mine in the Jade.
_____
Italian armed merchant
cruiser RAMB I (3667grt) was
sunk in the Indian Ocean at 1N, 70E by New Zealand light
cruiser LEANDER, which had left convoy US 9 at Bombay on
the 22nd.
The light cruiser picked
up 103 survivors and took
them to Addu arriving on the 28th.
_____
Operation ABSTENTION
continued.
Destroyers DECOY and HASTY
departed Alexandria at 0700.
Destroyer DECOY was
carrying half the ROSAURA
troops.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
BONAVENTURE and Australian
light cruiser PERTH and destroyers HERO and JAGUAR
departing Alexandria in the forenoon.
Destroyer HERO was
carrying half the ROSAURA
troops.
Destroyers DECOY and HERO
landed the troops.
Italian torpedo boats LUPO
and LINCE returned to
Castelorizzo. The two torpedo boats and two MAS boats
landed troops at Castelorizzo.
Italian destroyers CRISPI
and SELLA arrived later
the same day to land troops.
Destroyer JAGUAR engaged
Italian destroyers CRISPI
inside the harbour. Both destroyers launched torpedoes,
but neither ship was
hit. Destroyer JAGUAR reported hitting CRISPI with two
gunfire hits.
The British ships withdrew
to Suda
Bay.
At 0600/28th, light
cruiser AJAX with destroyer NUBIAN departed Alexandria
to take charge of the Aegean forces.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
BONAVENTURE, screening
destroyers DECOY and HERO, detached light cruiser PERTH
and destroyers HASTY and JAGUAR to join the AJAX group.
At dark on the 28th,
cruiser BONAVENTURE proceeded
to Alexandria.
Destroyers HERO and DECOY
were ordered to land the
Commando unit for ABSTENTION at Suda
Bay
and return to Alexandria.
Destroyers NUBIAN, HASTY,
JAGUAR carried out a
sweep after dark on the 28th between Castellerizo and
Rhodes.
Radio traffic from an
Italian warship was detected
between Castellerizo and Rhodes, but the destroyers were
unable to make
contact.
Cruisers AJAX and PERTH
covered the passage of convoys AN.16 and ANF.16 through
the Kaso Straits during the night of 28
February/1 March.
The British troops on
Castellorizo surrendered to
Italian forces.
Destroyers HERO and DECOY
arrived at Suda
Bay
during the morning of 1 March. They sailed again that
day for Alexandria, arriving at 1500 on 2 March.
Destroyers NUBIAN, JAGUAR,
HASTY arrived at Alexandria at 1800 on 1 March.
_____
Convoy ANF.16 of two
British, one Greek, two other ships
departed Ports Said escorted by destroyers VAMPIRE and
HOTSPUR. The convoy
was joined by anti-aircraft cruiser CALCUTTA, and
arrived at Piraeus on 2 March.
Friday,
28 February
Rear Admiral L. H. K.
Hamilton DSO, succeeded Rear
Admiral R. H. C. Hallifax as Rear Admiral Destroyers,
Home Fleet.
_____
Destroyer BOREAS departed
Scapa Flow at 0930 for Greenock to join destroyer ARROW escorting destroyer depot ship
TYNE.
Destroyer BOREAS arrived
at Greenock at 1000 on 1 March.
On 1 March at 1400,
destroyer depot ship TYNE and destroyers ARROW and BOREAS departed
Greenock for Scapa Flow, where they
arrived at 1800 on 2 March.
Depot ship TYNE relieved depot ship MAIDSTONE.
Rear Admiral Hamilton
transferred his flag to depot
ship TYNE at 0900 on 3 March. Depot ship MAIDSTONE
departed
Scapa Flow at 1815
on 3 March escorted by destroyers BOREAS and MENDIP for
Greenock.
The ships arrived at
Greenock at 0830 on 5 March. Destroyer MENDIP departed
Greenock and arrived back at Scapa
Flow at 0800 on 6 March.
Depot ship MAIDSTONE was
docked at the Clyde for refitting prior to departing for
Gibraltar on 21 March.
_____
Destroyers NAPIER and ZULU
departed Scapa Flow at 2100 for Rosyth to escort
battlecruiser REPULSE
from Rosyth.
Battlecruiser REPULSE,
escorted by destroyers
NAPIER, ZULU, BOADICEA departed Rosyth at 1030 on 3
March.
On 4 March, destroyer ZULU
was detached with engine
room defects and arrived at Scapa
Flow at 1245 on 4 March.
Battlecruiser REPULSE and
destroyers NAPIER and
BOADICEA arrived at Greenock late on 4 March. Destroyer
BOADICEA then sailed
again and arrived back at Scapa
Flow during the morning
of 5 March.
_____
Destroyers SOMALI (Captain
Caslon), BEDOUIN,
TARTAR, ESKIMO, LEGION and landing ships QUEEN EMMA and
PRINCESS BEATRIX
departed Scapa Flow at 2345 to participate in Operation
CLAYMORE.
Tovey departed Scapa Flow
at 1445 on 2 March in battleship KING GEORGE V
with battleship NELSON, light cruisers EDINBURGH and
NIGERIA, destroyers INGLEFIELD, MAORI, PUNJABI, ECHO,
ECLIPSE.
Destroyer MAORI attacked a
submarine contact on 3
March.
On 4 March, the two light
cruisers were detached to
close support for the Caslon force.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
arrived at Scapa Flow at 2100 from Rosyth after boiler
cleaning and
repairs.
_____
Light cruiser KENYA
departed
Gibraltar to join
convoy SL.66.
_____
Convoy OB.292 departed
Liverpool.
_____
Italian submarine BIANCHI
sank British steamer
BALTISTAN (6803grt) from convoy OB.290 in 51-52N,
19-55W.
Two crew were killed,
forty five crew missing and four
passengers missing. The passengers were P/T/A/Sub Lt (A)
G. G. Isaacs RNVR,
P/T/Sub Lt (A) T. Dibble, en route to GREBE, Lt Cdr (A)
J. H. Sender and
P/T/A/Sub Lt (A) E. C. Atkinson RNVR, en route to
aircraft carrier EAGLE.
Fourteen crew and four passengers were rescued.
_____
U.99 attacked British
steamer HOLMELEA (4223grt),
from dispersed convoy OB.290 without success.
The steamer was sunk by
U.47 with artillery in
54-24N, 17-25W.
One crewman was killed and
twenty seven were
missing. Eleven crew were rescued.
_____
U.108 sank British steamer
EFFNA (6461grt) in
61-30N, 15-45W.
The entire crew was lost.
_____
British steamer CABENDA
(534grt) was lost on a mine
in 51-34N, 3-54W.
One crewman was lost.
_____
Light cruiser ORION
departed Alexandria for Port Said where her
catapult was removed to make way for additional close
range anti-aircraft
weapons.
_____
Motor anti-submarine boat
MA/SB.3 was beached after
damage by a mine in the Suez
Canal. There were no
serious personnel casualties and she was refloated and
towed to Suez on 3 March.
_____
Convoy SC.24 departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser WOLFE and
corvette COLLINGWOOD. The corvette was detached on 1
March and the armed
merchant cruiser on 15 March. On 15 March, destroyers
VANQUISHER, WHITEHALL, WINCHELSEA joined the convoy. On
16 March,
corvettes CAMPANULA, FREESIA, PIMPERNEL joined the
escort, and arrived at
Liverpool on 19 March.
February,
miscellaneous
Massawa
operations - Involved
in the operations
were aircraft carrier HERMES, heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE,
light cruisers CAPETOWN and CERES and destroyers
GRIFFIN, KANDAHAR, KINGSTON, KIMBERLEY. SHROPSHIRE
bombarded Italian positions in Italian Somaliland.
_____
Light cruiser DESPATCH was
refitting at Bermuda.
